Work starting soon to prepare for wildflower spectacular

Work will be starting shortly to prepare for the spectacular display of wildflowers across Swansea.

More than 180 sites across the city including roundabouts, roadside verges and parks will burst into bloom by the middle of June.

Swansea Council's Parks & Cleansing Service will begin spraying the areas with herbicide ready for the seeds to be sown in the next couple of weeks.

More than 41,000 square metres of wild flowers - equivalent to about seven football pitches in size - will then be planted during April and May.

Since it started the wildflower scheme has grown and grown, attracting praise from residents and visitors alike.

There will be a little bit of fine-tuning this year with a small number of sites where the flowers have not worked being taken off the list but other new sites added.

The council's Parks & Cleansing Service also has a better understanding of the wildflowers that grow well in Swansea so there will be more of these.

The wild flowers scheme is funded by Swansea Council with contributions from some community councils and some internal departments.

Mark Russ, from the Parks Service, said: "The wild flowers scheme has been extremely popular with residents and visitors since being first introduced, so I'm pleased to say preparations have now started for their return this summer.

"It's a terrific scheme because it raises people's spirits, improves the look of the city and boosts biodiversity by attracting more bees and other pollinators to urban areas.

"A lot of work goes into the scheme each year and we are confident this will pay-off again."

The council also works in partnership with the Friends of the Botanical Gardens, who sell the seeds during their plant sale events.